Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to the field of information handling systems, and more particularly to a flexible information handling system display.
Description of the Related Art
As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
Portable information handling systems generally integrate input/output (I/O) devices and a power source to provide end users with a mobile computing solution. A typical portable information handling system includes a touchscreen display that presents output as visual images and accepts inputs as touches. Tablet information handling systems are built in planar housings with a touchscreen display that typically acts as the primary I/O device, such as by presenting a virtual keyboard on a display that accepts keyed inputs. Laptop or convertible information handling systems generally integrate a physical input device to aid end user interactions, such as keyboard having physical keys. Often laptop and convertible information handling systems have a housing portion that integrates a display rotationally coupled to a housing portion that integrates a keyboard. Hinges between the housing portions allow an end user to open the housing portions to hold the display in a raised position above the keyboard. The hinges rotate the housing portions to a closed position to provide a more compact footprint for transport of the information handling system. Convertible information handling systems generally rotate through 360 degrees so that the display is available in a tablet mode having the keyboard hidden or folded underneath the display.
One difficulty with tablet information handling systems is that the display size tends to be limited to dimensions that an end user can carry. For example, a liquid crystal display (LCD) typically has a flat surface protected by a glass cover and illuminated with a backlight. Thus the size of the planar housing that holds a tablet information handling system generally has to accept a display that is supported in a fixed footprint. Larger display dimensions tend to present information with more readable fonts and images, however, too large of a display drives a large housing size that reduces portability. More recently, organic light emitting diode (OLED) films have provided an alternative to flat LCDs. OLED films have pixels that include red, green and blue organic material to generate light with a desired mixture. OLED films do not rely upon a backlight to generate visual images so that the structure of an OLED display tends to be thinner than an LCD and also flexible. For example, OLED films curve around and underlying support structure to more effectively use the housing footprint for presenting visual images.
The flexible nature of OLED films provides an option for reducing the size of tablet portable information handling systems. For example, a single OLED film disposed over separate housing portions can fold so that the housing portions rotate to a closed position similar to that of laptop and convertible form factors. One difficulty with folding OLED films is that the curved portion at the fold cannot have too sharp of a bend or the OLED film may break. Another difficulty is that a folding display tends to reside on an outer surface of a housing so that the length of the outer surface varies depending upon fold angle as different distances of movement relate to the screen and other components in separate planes of travel. This delta in distance travel for a display film and other components creates a gap that, if not properly accommodated for, will show waviness, poor electrical and/or optical performance, and damage to the film material. In addition, the gap related to housing support of a folding display tends to create an awkward physical appearance and structures that can catch on external objects. In thin portable systems that have a low Z height, stresses related to folding of a housing can require more robust structural materials, thus adding weight and thickness to the system. Further, components disposed in the housing can have different and unexpected position and interactions. For example, antenna that support wireless communications can have awkward positioning in small form factors.